The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued two people with warning notices over what it described as a "seriously flawed advice model" linked to defined benefit (DB) pension transfers.

The notice, published on 6 March, said the questionable conduct took place between 1 October 2015 and 31 July 2016. The people and firm involved were not named.

The FCA said it believed the two people, who were listed as a partner and approved person at the unnamed firm, had engaged in reckless conduct that demonstrated they lacked integrity.

It added that the individuals (referred to as A and B) permitted the firm to operate a seriously flawed advice model for DB pension transfers in partnership with an unauthorised introducer firm.

The notice read: "The firm failed to gather sufficient information from clients, or take into account information on the onward investment scheme, in order to provide suitable pension transfer advice.

"Individual A and individual B failed to assess the obvious deficiencies of the pension transfer model and the risks of detriment it posed to the firm's clients, and failed to ensure that the firm performed sufficient and adequate due diligence on introducers and the investments which they promoted to clients."

The FCA said the pair had failed to respond to warning signs they received in respect of the "obvious deficiencies of the pension transfer model and the risks of detriment it posed to the firm's clients".

It also highlighted that individual B had failed to address the risk that clients introduced to the firm by the introducer would be encouraged to transfer out of their DB schemes and invest in "high-risk, illiquid and unregulated investments" which were "unlikely to be suitable" for them, notwithstanding the "obvious indications he received of the introducer's material financial interest in promoting those investments".

The said FCA considered that the individuals' respective conduct amounted to a "failure to comply with regulatory requirements aimed at ensuring that customers received suitable advice and were treated fairly".

The regulator issued the notices on 28 September and stated it proposed to take action in relation to the DB transfer advice.